Rizespor vs Samsunspor

Samsunspor made the short trip to Rize count, taking down Rizespor 2-0 in a feisty Black Sea derby at the Çaykur Didi Stadium. The hosts had the better early chances but couldn't find a breakthrough, and it was the visitors who made the pressure count before the break.

Josafat Mendes opened the scoring in the 34th minute, poking home after a goalmouth scramble, before Fatih Kaya doubled the lead in the 63rd with a well-struck effort from outside the box. Rizespor had flashes of their own, Ahmed Kutucu forcing a save inside the opening ten minutes and Mocsi crashing a header off the post, while Laçi caused problems down the right and Sagnan went close late on, but none of it yielded a goal.

The result flips the early-season narrative for both sides. Samsunspor move to 4 points and look sharper by the week, while Rizespor stay on 3 and will need to tighten up defensively before facing Gaziantep FK. Samsunspor, meanwhile, host Fenerbahçe next in what's shaping up to be a stern early test.